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In 2014 Tauranga Girls' College year 13 history students were asked to write an essay analysing the causes and consequences of the Land Wars in Tauranga 1864 and answering the question: Which Battle was the most significant for Tauranga Māori, the victory at Gate Pa, or the defeat at Te Ranga? This essay was written by student Esther Liddle and published in the November 2014 issue of the Bay of Plenty Historical Journal. It was also submitted for the 2014 'New Zealand Young Historian of the Year' in which it was awarded 2nd place.

The Battle of Gate Pa and the Battle of Te Ranga were of great significance to Tauranga Māori. In particular the Battle of Te Ranga had the effect of destroying Māori autonomy and their economic base.

The Constitution of 1852 along with the ensuing “stance taken by the Māori King Movement (Kingites) against land sales and their wish to pursue an independent political course” was the ultimate cause of the 1864 battles in Tauranga.1 The Constitution of 1852 restricted the franchise within New Zealand to persons owning land under a Crown title and as a result Māori were virtually disenfranchised as very few Māori held land under a Crown title. Māori elected Te Wherowhero as their King as a means of safeguarding their lands against the policies of the colonial government. Governor George Grey realised that the Waikato federation formed the core of Māori resistance to the opening up of land for white settlement. In April 1861 the Government sent an ultimatum to the Waikato tribes requesting them to abandon their King, to stop all actions that prevented the sale of land and to allow roads to be built through their lands.

In 1863 William Fox, a leader in the House of Representatives, submitted two bills to the Assembly; The Suppression of Rebellion Act and the New Zealand Settlements Act which empowered the government to confiscate the whole of any district where any considerable number of Māori were believed to be in rebellion. Because Māori refused to acknowledge government decrees, it was decided that the authority of the King movement needed to be emasculated.

Historian James Belich asserts that sovereignty was the basic cause of the wars of the 1860’s. This motivation stemmed from “the myths of empire… the ethos of a colonising and progressive race demanded that the British rule the whole of New Zealand in fact as well as name.”2 Graham Langton explains the Pakeha perspective of the times as a complex social movement including “the genuine distress and fear of frontier families, the cultural snobbery of the educated settler elite, the brutish racial superiority of ignorant whites, the desire of the Governor and the magistrates to end the humiliation of not being able to rule in the out districts, the desire of the humanitarians to carry the policy of ‘amalgamation’ to a conclusion – all these found common expression in the impulse to end Māori resistance by force of arms.”3 Pakeha wanted dominance over the whole of New Zealand and Māori wanted independence in their own areas. Māori historian Te Ati Awa argues that competition for land was the crucial issue of the wars and the on-going effects of colonisation and land sales made the situation more complex. Indeed, conflict between the Māori and Pakeha was inevitable as Māori refused to acknowledge the authority of the government and sell their land.

British authorities sent an expedition to Tauranga after the young men of the East Coast tribes, along with Tauranga tribes “joined the disaffected natives fighting against the Queen’s troops in Waikato.”4 Furthermore, the lands of Ngai Te Rangi and Ngai Te Ranganui were fertile and these tribes also sent food and supplies to the Waikato. The British wanted to stop this alliance. Grey and his ministers, along with General Duncan Cameron, composed a list of strategic reasons for sending troops to Tauranga. They noted that Tauranga was the route for disaffected Māori from the East Coast to travel to and from the war in the Waikato and that it was also the route for both munitions and food being taken to the Waikato. Grey requested that his men “not adopt any aggressive movement against natives” but should “intercept all armed parties passing by the Tauranga route.”5 Cameron urged that an expedition should be sent to Tauranga so as to “draw off part of the forces he had to face in the Waikato.”6 Soldiers and sailors arrived in Tauranga to enforce the blockade of the Tauranga harbour to stop the flow of warriors and supplies across into the Waikato. They also secured the mission buildings as there had been threats by Māori that if the British Military ever came to Tauranga, they might burn the mission down.

Tauranga tribes saw the arrival of British troops as a threat to their lands and homes. Their warriors returned to Tauranga and came together under the influential Ngai Te Rangi Chief, Rawiri Puhirake: “To Māori, the arrival of a British fighting force was perceived as an unprovoked home invasion.”7 Puhirake sent letters of challenge to the British forces in Tauranga and offered a choice of pa sites as suitable places for a confrontation. The British refused to rise to the provocation so Puhirake and his men moved to the hill known as Pukehinahina (Gate Pa) to be closer to the British camp. The British “could no longer ignore such a stronghold so close to their camp”.8 For Cameron this was his chance to destroy a major Kingite force and he came to Tauranga with reinforcements.

The Battle of Gate Pa was “a stand taken in defiance of British repression of Māori sovereignty.”9 During mid-April 1864 Māori advanced to Gate Pa and constructed a single line of rifle pits on the rising ground. Behind this they made a small square redoubt and then they waited for the British to make their move. On the morning of 29 April 1864 Māori discovered that the 68th Regiment, and a unit of the Naval Brigade, had got behind them and effected a flank movement on the right of their position. There were four batteries of the enemy in front of them, and also a group of skirmishers on the left that prevented any attempt by Māori to cross the swamp and affect a retreat to the Wairoa. They were closed in by swamps on either side: “Their position might well have been deemed hopeless.”10

The battle started with a Māori gunshot from the Pa. Cameron and his troops then began firing on the pa whilst Māori were under shelter in their trenches. The British fired a 6-pound Armstrong gun across to the high ground on the west of the pa, which cleared out the defenders. A number of British sailors and soldiers from the 43rd Regiment then burst into the breach of the pa and were killed by Māori fire from the trenches. Some Māori were forced out the back of the pa and then driven back in by the fire from the 68th Regiment, who were standing at the rear. The 68th Regiment were then taken aback by rifle fire, supposedly from other British troops in front. As the day continued both races began to get better at their aim and the British sought to “drive the Māoris out at the point of the bayonet.”11 The events that followed resulted in more British deaths, including some by their own fire, whilst the Māori retreated into their redoubt. Māori then opened on the British with a heavy fire. The British panicked and were driven out of the pa. British casualties numbered 30 dead and 80 wounded and Māori casualties numbered approximately 25 dead and an unknown number wounded.

Nearly seven weeks later on 21 June 1864, at Te Ranga, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Greer along with 600 troops attacked around 500 Māori as they were beginning a new pa. Māori had not had time to finish their fortifications and were taken completely by surprise. For three hours the bombardment lasted, and then there was a command given to charge. There was a bayonet charge by the British, and for a few seconds a savage hand to hand struggle took place. With the battle lost Māori turned and fled, leaving many dead and dying to be buried in the trenches they had begun digging. Rawiri Puhirake and Henare Taratoa were amongst the dead. Māori losses were approximately 120 dead and 37 wounded and taken as prisoners. The British losses were at 13 dead and 39 wounded.

It is said that Te Ranga was a “bitter bloody musket-swinging, bayonet-stabbing, axe-wielding melee in and over the trenches with neither side giving ground.”12 The Māori were outnumbered and taken by surprise. The rules of the Code of Conduct were found with Taratoa’s body and included the quote “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink”. Greer who led the British during the Battle of Te Ranga, said that the Māori made a “most gallant stand” and “fought with determined courage.”13 The Māori were utterly defeated by Greer with the 68th and 34rd Regiments. They were caught off guard, and tribes such Ngatai-Pikiao, Ngati-Porou and Ngati-Rangiwewehi were decimated.

The battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga were significant to Tauranga Māori in many ways. The Battle of Gate Pa was an unlikely victory for Tauranga Māori. Quite literally, they had taken the challenge to the invader and had won. Less than 250 Māori warriors defeated 1700 British troops, with simple but effective weapons. The Battle of Gate Pa is seen by many historians as a notable achievement of the Māori during the New Zealand Wars. It is one of the defining moments in the history of Tauranga and was one of the few victories for Māori against the British. Indeed, the way in which Māori fought and honoured the Potiriwhi Code of Conduct has also never been forgotten.

During the battle Māori stuck to their rules and stood by the Code of Conduct, leaving the bodies of the British where they fell and some even aided the suffering British: “The bodies were not stripped or injured; they lay as they fell, and the tomahawk wounds were inflicted during the first encounter when the stormers entered. The watches, rings, money and clothing of our dead and wounded were untouched. This was the finest act of the enemy during the struggle. No one expected it … They had, as it appears, made a law not to hurt the wounded nor mutilate the dead that fell into their hands, and they kept their agreement.”14 The story of the giving of water to the British is particularly significant. Some say it was Taratoa who gave Booth water while others say it was Heni Te Kiri Karamu. The rules in the Code of Conduct were to foreshadow an important landmark in the conduct of modern warfare. It is suggested the rules were subsequently included in the Geneva Convention.15

Respect for the actions of Māori at Gate Pa led to Rawiri Puhirake and Henare Taratoa being buried in consecrated ground at the Mission Cemetery next to British soldiers, sailors and other troops. Puhirake’s body was exhumed from the battlefield of Te Ranga and reburied at the Mission Cemetery due to his chivalrous conduct at the Battle of Gate Pa which had impressed the British. There was a combined effort by both Māori and Pakeha to erect a monument for Puhirake over his grave at the Mission Cemetery. This monument was erected to “commemorate his chivalrous and humane orders for the protection of unarmed or wounded men who fell into the hands of the Maoris” and for “the respectful treatment of the bodies of any of their enemies slain in the battle.”16 It is a mark of respect for the kindness and chivalry shown at Gate Pa and the heroic way warriors fought at Te Ranga and shows a bond of respect between the two races.

While the Battle of Gate Pa was a victory for Tauranga Māori, the defeat at the Battle of Te Ranga broke their resistance to British sovereignty. After Te Ranga Māori surrendered and had to give up their weapons. There was discussion between Greer and Māori in which Greer promised to protect them from insult and danger. This surrender left their lives and lands in government hands. Some Māori spoke at the surrender. One being a relative of Puhirake who expressed the desire to “live in peace with all men.” However, there were confiscations of land which caused Māori grievance and resistance, and led to the Tauranga Bush Campaign where the Māori interfered with the British surveying of their land. “To be sure, Māori won the battle [at Gate Pa] but lost the war [at Te Ranga] and have suffered the economic, social, cultural and political consequences of that fact for as long as anyone here [in Tauranga] can remember.”17 There was a decline in population, loss of identity and tradition, and loss of “economic resources which had previously allowed them to feed themselves and trade with Pakeha.” They “also experienced the demoralisation that came with what was viewed as a loss of mana”.18

The historiography of the New Zealand Wars shows that the people of New Zealand are now beginning to see things from a more balanced perspective rather than just a British perspective. A major reappraisal was initiated by James Belich in the 1980’s, who in the preface to his New Zealand Wars states, “this book is a revisionist study to the Victorian interpretation of racial conflict.”19 Belich explored beyond the British dominated historical record. While some details of Belich’s analysis have subsequently been questioned by other historians, largely as a result of his work New Zealanders today have a more balanced perspective than previously. There is a post-revisionism emerging among historians to once again give credence to the notion of ‘Land Wars’ and recognition that “for Māori, the notion of sovereignty – te tino rangitiratanga – was not just an idea that floated in the air, so to speak; it was an idea that was grounded into a historic, customary landscape. Te tino rangatiratanga and the land were the same thing.”20 The Battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga are now viewed with a new understanding of the Māori side of the struggle, and this has been reflected in recent Waitangi Tribunal rulings for Tauranga Moana.

The Waitangi Tribunal rulings in 2012 resulted in a settling of grievances for Tauranga Māori that date back to the events of 1864. Ngati Ranginui concluded a deal with the Crown by signing a deed of settlement. “The background to the claims included the impacts of the colonial government’s war in Tauranga in the 1860’s and subsequent land confiscation the bush campaign, native land laws, land development and the socio-economic impacts of land loss.”21 The claims of Ngati Ranginui concerned the war and confiscation of land, the purchase of Te Puna-Katikati blocks after the war, the consequences of Ngati Ranginui resisting the confiscation of these blocks and other land, the effects of the Crown’s native land laws and later Māori land legislation and public works takings during the second half of the twentieth century.

A Crown force had looted and destroyed villages, burnt crops and took any livestock found following the obstruction of surveys by Ngati Ranginui. When the Te Puna – Katikati blocks were purchased, Ngati Ranginui struggled to support themselves. Food shortages were common and poor sanitation in the Ngati Ranginui communities resulted in sickness. In the deed the Crown acknowledged its actions arising from interaction with Ngati Ranginui whereby it breached the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles. The breaches included the Crown’s responsibility for the war in Tauranga, the confiscation of Ngati Ranginiui land, the failure to actively protect Ngati Ranginui interests in lands at Tauranga, which they wished to retain, and the unreasonable and unnecessary use of force by the Crown during the bush campaign. The deed also included cultural redress, financial and commercial redress, and specific redress for Ngati Ranginui.

During the following year The Crown signed another claim deed of settlement with Ngai Te Rangi iwi, and its hapu, Nga Potiki. The settlement deed includes financial and commercial redress of $26.5 million for Ngai Te Rangi and $3 million for Nga Potiki. The cultural redress provides recognition of the traditional, historical, cultural and spiritual associations of Ngai Te Rangi and Nga Potiki with several key sites in the area, which allows the iwi and the Crown to work together to protect and enhance the conservation values associated with these sites in their territory. Ngai Te Rangi and Nga Potiki’s claims were based on both confiscation and post-raupatu actions and omissions of the Crown. They were the final groups to sign individual Treaty claims deeds of settlement in the Tauranga region. “Mr Finlayson said the Crown’s past actions and omissions meant that the iwi were left virtually landless… and their cultural landscapes and seascapes had been compromised and diminished.” He said that “we can never fully compensate for these wrongs, however, this settlement will enable the people of Ngai Te Rangi and Nga Potiki to look forward to a stronger future” and that “signing the deed of settlement is an important step toward settling all historical grievances in the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand as a whole.”22 Ngai Te Rangi runanga chairperson Charlie Tawhiao said “the signing represents the culmination of years of work, including by some who had not lived long enough to see the settlement come to fruition.”23

For some these rulings contributed towards a reconciliation which was exhibited in the events of the Gate Pa and Te Ranga commemorations this year. Without the enactment of the Waitangi Settlement the sesquicentennial may not have been so enthusiastically embraced by local Māori. In the “lone Pyes Pa paddock there now stand two pou-dramatic visual reminders that one of New Zealand’s bloodiest battles took place there 150 years ago.”24 They were unveiled on the 21st June 2014 and were blessed as part of the commemorations. The memorial service was expected to be a “low-key and solemn event” with only 300 people expected to take part. However, there ended up being around 500 to 600 people present. Historian, Buddy Mikaere, said “the Te Ranga commemoration was especially tragic because of the lives lost on the Māori side” and that “Tauranga Māori lost a whole generation of their leaders.”25 The commemorations included a re-enactment of the battle by local children, which “was quite emotional and quite moving.” Mikaere also indicated that “the event brought closure for some people. It gave people an opportunity to come to terms with what happened and have that closure, acknowledge what happened and move on. It had a much more intimate feel to it, contributing to the atmosphere at the end … It created a real whanau feel.”26 Columnist, Tommy Kapai says that hundreds of people present at the commemorations “cared about what happens when you dispossess a people of their language and their land, and want to help in every way possible as a community to find a pathway forward.”27 The two pou that are now present at the site of the Battle of Te Ranga are said to be “really quite imposing and a lot more dramatic than the city pou.”28 As part of the Battle of Gate Pa commemorations a number of pou were also unveiled and blessed near the site where the battle took place.

In addressing the question of which battle was the most significant for Tauranga Māori, the victory at Gate Pa, or the defeat at Te Ranga, it is not just a matter of one over the other. Certainly the defeat at the Battle of Te Ranga resulted in the dire consequences of the adverse effects of colonisation which had a long-lasting impact on Tauranga Māori. As such it was of paramount significance for Tauranga Māori. However, the victory at Gate Pa did result in a high degree of respect from non-Māori and is a source of pride and mana amongst the Māori community, evident in the recent sesquicentennial commemorations: “It must be said that the seeds of something more positive were sewn at Pukehinahina on the day of the battle. I like to think of it as a certain mutual respect, albeit grudging at first. It was a small seed and it took many years to germinate, but germinate it did. And now, a century and a half later, it is beginning to flower and shade out older attitudes that have persisted in the undergrowth.”29

Today after 150 years and the recent Treaty settlements in Tauranga Moana we can reflect on how far we have come and how far we have to go in the future. Following the battles there was land confiscation, loss of life and huge cultural and economic changes for Tauranga Māori. In the present day we acknowledge these battles as a way for both Māori and Pakeha in Tauranga to go forward and to endeavour to live together in peace and friendship. In the words of Justice Joe Williams, “there is a certain optimism about the place.”30

Endnotes:

1 Osborne, J. (2014), The Tauranga Campaign 21 January 1864 to 21 June 1864: The Battle at Maketu 28 April 1864, The Battle at Gate Pa (Pukehinahina) 28 – 29 April 1864, Battle at Te Ranga 20 June 1864, Tauranga City Libraries, p1

The Rules at the Battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga, 1864: Introduction, Information – The letter with the rules of engagement, These rules were indeed followed, There is still some debate about who gave water, Why were the rules developed?, the influence of mercy, A change in attitude to casualties of war, The death and burial of the chiefs, The birth of Tauranga, One hundred and fifty years later.

Osborne, J. (2014). The Tauranga Campaign 21 January 1864 to 21 June 1864: The Battle of Maketu 28 April 1864, The Battle at Gate Pa (Pukehinahina) 28-29 April 1864, Battle at Te Ranga 20 June 1864. New Zealand: Tauranga City Libraries.